EXCLUSIVE – INDOCTRINATION 101: TEACHING CHICAGO STUDENTS TO PROTEST

Jones College Prep, a Chicago Public Schools “selective enrollment” school, held “Social Justice Week” in March, a collection of events geared towards turning students into activists. See the schedule of events here.

Social Justice Week was created to promote community advancement through dialogue and community service based activism. Moreover, we hope to unify the voice of various JCP and community organizations in which to facilitate collaboration for the betterment of the community at large and promote a unified human rights advancement initiative.

The school is, according to U.S. News & World Report, a Top 100 high school in the country. It’s one of the best of the best–the cream of the crop.

Demographically, Jones College Prep is fairly balanced. Statistics from 2007-2008 show black enrollment is 23.4%, white enrollment is 29.5% and Hispanic enrollment is 33.7%.

Yet the school administrators, through Social Justice Week, gave a platform to community organizers who in turn provided students biased information and encouraged them to take specific steps to protest, EAGnews.org reports exclusively.

When we heard about the week, we contacted school officials requesting to observe and record the events. All parties consented.

You can watch the exclusive video below.

On Wednesday of Social Justice Week, Black Star Project, a Chicago-based community organizing group, was brought into the school after school hours to teach students about “non-violent” protesting. Led by Phillip Jackson, former “Chief of Education” under former Mayor Richard Daley, the optional discussion was focused on students fighting back against gun crime.

Black Star Project, according to its website, is funded by Open Society Foundations (i.e. George Soros), Best Buy, ING and Toyota Motor Sales, among others.

But Jackson apparently had no interest in allowing students to come to their own conclusions on gun ownership.

Jackson’s co-presenter, Camille Williams of the Peace in the Hood movement, made several inflammatory statements about gun ownership and the National Rifle Association. She claimed the NRA is indifferent to gun violence. She also asserted she has received emails from the NRA and/or its members claiming she is “going to hell” for her advocacy and “these porch monkeys deserved to die,” referring to black children killed by guns.

EAGnews.org contacted Jackson regarding these emails, wishing to make them public. We received no response.

When one student stated that she believed everyone should be able to own guns, her opinion was dismissed.

Williams: Right now in Springfield, they are moving to pass conceal and carry so that everybody can carry guns. Are you all in agreement with that?

Student: Um…I am because I think if you take away guns from regular citizens, the criminals and the police are the only ones who have them, so…

Williams: did you look at this?

[At that point, she held up a list to young people who have been killed with guns.]

Student: Yes, ma’am, I did.

Williams: How many of these kids on here are able to carry a gun?

Student: None of them.

Williams: And they are the leading targets.

At this particular session of Social Justice Week, no opposing views were offered. It appeared only certain outcomes were being sought. Jackson strongly encouraged the students to develop forms of non-violent protest. “I’m not telling you to do it, but if you were going to,” he said, leading the proverbial horse to the water.

“I’m just saying,” he said on several occasions.

Jackson then offered the idea of creating a symbolic graveyard on the school lawn of headstones featuring the names of Chicago residents killed with guns.

Do the leaders of Jones College Prep understand what’s going on?

Coming tomorrow: A Jones dean says “times are changing” and that’s why Social Justice Week is good for students and adults. Also, what can adults do to harness all that “teenage angst”?